For a mere $44 million, two years, and despite terrorist attacks, Bank of Ceylon has integrated 302 branches.

The total cost, with hardware, software and implementation cost 1.5 to two billion rupees,” R B Ekanayake, IT Consultant BoC told LBO. “The (integrating) process started in September 2004 and we hope to connect all our branches by the end of this year.

Source: LANKA BUSINESS ONLINE – LBO

The key point is that they did it using online banking technology if I am reading this article right.  The devil is always in the details, but here is the quote:

…..  the state bank began moving all its branches to Fiserv’s International Comprehensive Banking System (ICBS) in 2005.

……

“What we provide for BoC is software and services which are the same services all the major banks in the world have access to,” James Fisher, Managing Director Fiserv said.

The online services provide customers the facility to inquire about account balances, past transaction inquiries and statement of current accounts.

So if I am reading this right, they are using a system from Fiserv, that is scaleable, and supports any channel.  These are not inconsequential statements for banking system.  Here is a quote from the Fiserv site:

“ICBS has shown that it has the functional depth and adaptability to meet our changing needs,” said Hackett. “Fiserv’s core technology enables us to be leaner and meaner than our competition and maintain our speed to market. With ICBS we can support and launch products with different interest rates and features via its easy to use parameter framework. Because of the system’s reliability and flexibility, we could launch as many as 50 new products daily and the system would completely support this operation. This speed and efficiency has allowed us to maintain our position and expand into new markets.”